The present invention relates to the field of tennis racket accessories, and more particularly an accessory that adds a weight to a racket at a desired location. The weight is added to the racket to build up the player's muscles.
The flexibility and convenience in use of an accessory for a tennis racket are critical factors from a practical point of view. The weight holder accessory must be convenient to install, remove, and suit the needs of the player. Full development of strength for all types of shots and serving requires that the weight holder not interfere when on the racket. Many tennis players change rackets during a practice session or match, so the weight holder should fit different racket sizes and types.
As far as applicant knows, only two forms of tennis racket weight holders are in general use, now. One type is shown essentially in U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,560, issued July 11, 1967, where the holder is in the form of a case that is laced to the outer end of the racket and the single weight is curved to fit the rounded racket frame.
The other tennis racket weight holder on the market is a weight that comes in two hemispherical pieces, for attachment at the center of the racket head. The pieces are placed on opposite sides at the racket string center, and a fastener connects them together with the strings in the middle. This holder, cannot be used while playing tennis.
Special tennis rackets have been patented, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,215,899, issued Sept. 24, 1940, with a weight in the handle. A mechanism allows the weight to slide inside the handle to adjust the racket balance. These rackets are expensive and complex, and they do not seem to be very popular, now.
Each sport has its unique needs for equipment and the players' demands are different. In the preliminary novelty search on this invention, weight holders used in other sports and activities were found and each of the patents selected for the novelty evaluation and not already cited above, are listed below for consideration by the Patent Office Examiner:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,766 Issued January 20, 1970 U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,883 Issued July 28, 1970 U.S. Pat. No. 3,623,724 Issued November 30, 1971 U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,053 Issued June 19, 1973 U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,239 Issued February 13, 1973 U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,697 Issued September 10, 1974 ______________________________________